World First Light Rail vehicle arrives in Sydney

The first of a brand new fleet of light rail vehicles has arrived in Sydney from France and was officially unveiled today by Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance.

The world first glimpse of the new vehicle in Randwick for the CBD and South East Light Rail marks a significant step towards the new transport system coming to life.

“It is a really exciting day to be standing here with the first of our world-class light rail vehicles and offering the people of NSW a glimpse of this innovative, modern vehicle,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“We know the travelling public have been patiently waiting for this major milestone.”

Sixty vehicles are heading to Sydney to operate the new light rail system from Circular Quay to Randwick and Kingsford operating as 30 coupled sets, 67 metres in length.

“Sydney is the first city in the world to receive the Citadis X05 vehicle and I am pleased to note they are fully accessible with low-floors, double doors, dedicated areas for wheelchairs and prams and low-level on-board passenger intercoms,” Mr Constance said.

“These trams use four times less energy than an average bus and 10 times less energy than a car.

“The next step will be to begin testing the vehicles along part of the track later in the year, ahead of services starting operation in 2019.”

Each light rail vehicle set can carry up to 450 people, equivalent of up to nine standard buses, meaning less congestion on Sydney’s roads and more reliable travel times.

Currently, more than 50 cities worldwide use global rail transport supplier Alstom’s Citadis light rail vehicles, with the X05 model to be a world first in Sydney.

The CBD and South East Light Rail will provide reliable, high frequency ‘turn up and go’ transport services from Circular Quay and the CBD, to Randwick and Kingsford via Surry Hills, Moore Park and Kensington by early 2019.